STRADCOM assists BARMM’s land transport development

THE creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) marked a new dawn for the Bangsamoro community, which for decades, struggled to achieve longlasting peace, economic development, and meaningful autonomy.

One of BARMM’s ministries that plays significant role in the BARMM transition is the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC). The MOTC is the primary policy, planning, programming, coordinating, implementing, regulating, and administrative entity of the Bangsamoro Government in the promotion, development, and regulation of dependable and coordinated networks of transportation and communications systems in the region.

While the transition period carries a lot of challenges, MOTC officials believe that finding strategic partners is key to addressing these hurdles. In November 2021, MOTC partnered with Filipino information technology (IT) company STRADCOM to help them in the organization and automation of their systems for the BARMM Land Transportation Office (BLTO).

STRADCOM is LTO’s long-time IT provider and the proponent of the multibillion-peso LTO-IT project, which automated the core processes of the agency. STRADCOM President and CEO Anthony Quiambao said the historic partnership with BARMM symbolizes the company’s commitment to participating in the progress of the Bangsamoro region.

BLTO Regional Head Anwar Upahm said that they chose STRADCOM as their partner owing to the IT company’s capability and proven track record in automating land transportation systems of LTO. The system developed by the IT firm is installed in all of the LTO branches that the BLTO will take over, which makes it easier for them to transition. He added that aside from being systematic and user-friendly, the LTO-IT system is responsive to the internet connectivity speed in the region.

STRADCOM also provides site support and regular coordination to help BLTO personnel in their daily activities. The IT firm also organizes capacitybuilding and knowledge-sharing activities for BLTO officials and personnel on the system and process handling for major BLTO services.

Mr. Upahm said the partnership with STRADCOM has made the transition of LTO offices seamless despite having new personnel in the acquired offices. The IT firm enabled the regionalization of BLTO, which made the transactions simpler and more efficient to process. The BLTO chief added that these strategies prevented the team from having transaction backlogs.

To date, four out of eight LTO sites are now under the jurisdiction of BLTO. These offices include Bongao Extension Office in Tawi-Tawi, Jolo District Office in Sulu, and Cotobato District Office and Cotobato Licensing Center in Cotobato City. These BLTO sites can now process a monthly average of 2,500 motor vehicle and driver’s license transactions.